61 awards of between £1,500 and £100,000 made to individual artists and organisations from Dec 2014 – Jan 2015.

Creative Scotland has awarded more than £1.3m through its Open Project Fund to support festivals, research and development, production, national and international touring and the purchase of vital equipment, from December 2014 to January 2015.

61 individuals and projects across the arts, screen and creative industries and based throughout Scotland, received awards of between £1,500 and £100,000.

There are no deadlines attached to Open Project Funding. Applications are reviewed on a weekly basis and decisions provided within 8 weeks for applications less than £15,000 and 12 weeks for applications more than £15,000. This means that individuals and organisations can apply at a time that suits their needs and their practice.

This new funding route, launched in October 2014, reflects Creative Scotland’s commitment to simplification and clarity and replaces multiple funding routes that previously existed. Applicants can apply for funding amounts between £1,000 and £100,000 (or up to £150,000 by exception) for projects lasting up to two years.

Significant awards have been made to UZ Arts, receiving £150,000 towards Moving Out, an international festival programme, series of residencies, workshops, and a symposium, and to engage, the National Association for Gallery Education receiving £99,962 to deliver a programme of activities for gallery educators and visual arts professionals across Scotland.

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“Open Project Funding is one of the three key elements of our new funding approach, delivering the promise of simplicity and clear routes to funding for those we are here to support.

“I’m particularly pleased that we are able to operate the Open Project Fund without deadlines. Demand is high, so we are allocating budgets across the year, which means that both individuals and organisations can apply at a time that suits them. This is something that has been asked for and we are responding accordingly.

“Alongside our Regular and Targeted funding routes, Open Project Funding aims to support work across a broad range of practice and scale and across all parts of Scotland.

“This route to funding helps artists and creative people bring their ideas to life, increasing the quality, strength and diversity of culture in Scotland, delivering real benefits for everyone that lives here.

“Over £1m of these awards has been allocated from National Lottery funds. Alongside funding from the Scottish Government, The National Lottery forms a vital part of funding support for the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland and it is important to recognise this.”

East Neuk Festival is one of the first projects to benefit from a two year funding commitment, which wasn’t possible through the project based funding programmes previously operated by Creative Scotland. On receiving £100,000 funding Artistic Director, Svend Brown said:

“East Neuk Festival enters its second decade in 2015 and we are delighted to be doing so with the news of this two-year support from Creative Scotland. It both secures our ambitious programme for 2015 and enables us to plan for 2016 with greater security: like most other arts organisations we see every aspect of what we do vastly enhanced by the possibility to plan further ahead.”

In My Fathers Words was produced by The Dundee Rep Theatre as part of the Culture 2014 strand for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and toured the Highlands and Islands after its runs in Glasgow and Dundee. Written by Justin Young with Gaelic by Iain Finlay MacLeod, In My Father’s Words is set around Lake Ontario and explores Scottish emigrants’ experiences and the recovery of language and identity. It was produced and directed by Philip Howard, joint Artistic Director of the Rep. He said:

“Taking In My Father’s Words to New York gives us an incredible opportunity to develop our international touring skills while showcasing Dundee Rep on an international stage. Performing at a festival which celebrates the best of new works from British theatre will significantly raise our profile, as well as that of theatre in Scotland.

“We have been extending our Scottish touring networks, and this will build on that skills base, giving our technical, and production staff a fantastic opportunity to work in New York and offering international exposure for the cast.

“Performing in New York will allow us to extend the life of the project further, and give us an exciting opportunity to present the production and play to new audiences and promoters in North America.”

Details of the Open Project Fund and all other Creative Scotland funding can be found on here.

Open Project Funding commenced on 1 October, 2014 and sits alongside Regular and Targeted Funding as one of Creative Scotland’s three funding routes.

Notes to Editors:

Open Project Funding is available to a wide range of organisations and individuals working across Scotland in the arts, screen and creative industries. Open Project Funding replaces most of the project based funding programmes previously operated by Creative Scotland. Open Project Funding supports a broad spectrum of activity including: creative and professional development; research and development; production; small capital requirements; touring and collaborations; festivals; arts programming; audience development, etc. A full list of activities supported through this route is set out in the Open Project Funding application guidance. Support is available for projects of different scale and duration with the maximum period of award being set at 2 years. Awards are made in the range £1,000 to £100,000 (or up to £150,000 by exception).

Guidelines published: 1 October 2014
Open for applications: 31 October 2014
Funding awarded: From December 2014 (for a period up to 2 years)

Open Project Funding is one strand of Creative Scotland’s new funding approach which was announced on 9 April 2014 and reflects Creative Scotland’s commitment to introduce a clear and simple funding approach that provides access to both long-term and project funding for individuals and organisations, as set out in our Action Plan for Change, published in March 2013.

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We do this through funding, development, advocacy and influence and we distribute funding from the Scottish Government and
the National Lottery.

We want Scotland to be a country where excellence and experimentation across the arts, screen and creative industries is recognised and valued; everyone can access and enjoy artistic and creative experiences; places and quality of life are transformed through imagination, ambition and an understanding
of the potential of creativity; ideas are brought to life by a diverse, skilled and connected leadership and workforce; Scotland is a distinctive creative nation connected to the world.